Slow Cooker Pulled Beef is an easy recipe with minimal prep work needed. Dancing with a balance of sweet and savory flavors this shredded beef packs in fall apart tender meat and comes with its own built in sauce. Serve it with creamy mashed potatoes, hamburger buns, sandwiches, nachos, pizzas, beef enchiladas and more!
Recipes like the French Onion Beef, Minced Beef Stir Fry, Beef Enchiladas and the Beef Pesto Pasta use a variety of cuts of beef for family friendly dinner meals.
The Slow Cooker Coke Pulled Pork and Slow Cooker Pulled Lamb Shoulder are other proteins that we slow cook then shred to use in a multitude of ways.
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🤍 Slow Cooker Pulled Beef Recipe
I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the recipe in the points below:
- Not drowning in BBQ sauce: a lot of pulled meat recipes will see the meat be cooked and then smothered with bbq sauce at the end. Whilst that is all well and good doing so often results in a very sweet sugary flavor from the sauce and less 'beef flavor' from the meat. We instead, cook the beef till melt in your mouth perfection, create an in built sauce and marry the 2 flavors so that they are perfectly complimentary.
- Freezer friendly: this is excellent to meal prep if you want to do that! (Freezes and reheats exceptionally well).
- Versatile: once the meat is done you can use it for just about anything and everything! Serve it with the sauce, serve it without the sauce, pop it on a pizza, stuff enchiladas with it, add it as a burger filling, in grilled cheese and more!
🥗 Ingredients
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the easy shredded beef recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.
As you can see the recipe calls for:
- Salt and pepper.
- Garlic powder.
- Paprika: can be either smoked paprika (more earthy) or ground paprika (more spicy).
- Mustard powder.
- Onion powder.
- Oregano.
- Worcestershire sauce: the secret ingredient I like to use in a lot of meals. It gives us a little 'oomph'.
- Tomato sauce.
- Barbecue sauce.
- Tomatoes: I like to use crushed tomatoes as they add the flavor but don't overload with texture.
- Beef stock: also known as beef broth. This is the primary liquid used to cook the meat. We only use a small amount. Then we add to it to increase the flavor profile and create a sauce to serve with the shredded beef.
- Beef: beef chuck is the best cut to use for the recipe. It breaks down over the slow cooking process resulting in tender juicy beef.
😉 Variations
Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:
- Dried herbs: I like to use oregano for the recipe. Some alternatives that will work are dried thyme or rosemary.
- Spice: you can add a little (to your liking) of chili powder to the spice rub if you want to dial it up a notch.
- Beef: I like to use a whole cut of beef chuck roast for the recipe and massage the dry rub into it. I find doing so keeps the prep time short and there is no loss of flavor. You can however, use beef chuck fillets that have been precut (In Australia Coles more commonly has the whole beef chuck and Woolies the beef chuck fillets or your butcher is another great go to).
- Alternative: beef chuck is also more economical but you can use beef cheeks if you wish to.
- Worcestershire sauce: you can use balsamic vinegar in place of the Worcestershire sauce if you wish to.
👩🍳 How to Make Slow Cooker Pulled Beef
To make the slow cooker pulled beef we start by combining the ingredients to make the homemade dry rub.
- Gather the dry rub ingredients (Photo 1)
- Combine (Photo 2)
- Pat the beef dry (Photo 3)
- Massage in the dry rub (Photo 4)
Next take the beef chuck, remove any packaging and place it in the middle of a clean, dry chopping board. Use a folded piece of paper towel to pat it dry and discard any butchers string.
Once done, work a side at a time and sprinkle the dry rub over the beef then rotate it and keep going until you have coated each side.
Next we make the sauce.
- Add the sauce ingredients to the slow cooker (Photo 5)
- Stir to combine (Photo 6)
- Add the beef, lid on and cook (Photo 7)
- Remove the lid and transfer cooked beef to cutting board (Photo 8)
To make the sauce, grease the slow cooker insert with a spray of olive oil then pour in the beef stock. Follow this with the barbecue sauce, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce.
Now use a wooden spoon to gently stir and combine the sauce.
Once done place the seasoned beef into the bottom of the slow cooker and put the lid on.
Set the timer and temperature to 4 hours on high or 7 hours on low.
Whilst the beef cooks make the slurry.
To make the slurry combine the corn flour and water and stir till consistent.
Once the initial cook time is up, remove the lid of the slow cooker. Then use a carving prong and a pair of tongs to gently lift the cooked beef out of the slow cooker and onto a chopping board. Use 2 forks to gently shred the meat.
Pour the slurry into the slow cooker and stir to gently combine it with the sauce.
- Make the slurry (Photo 9)
- Remove the beef and add the slurry (Photo 10)
- Pull the beef (Photo 11)
- Add the shredded beef back to the slow cooker (Photo 12)
🍴 Shredded Beef
Now add the shredded beef back to the slow cooker.
Let this cook for one hour on high or 1 ½ hours on low. This gives the sauce a chance to thicken.
Once this second cook time is up, remove the lid and set it aside.
Place a colander over a large heatproof jug.
Take 2 oven mitts and remove the slow cooker insert. Now pour the contents of the slow cooker into the colander or sieve.
Let the sauce drain into the cup below and reserve this for serving the beef.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
When it comes to serving your pulled beef this is where you will find yourself with a limitless amount of options!
For a potato side try the Garlic Butter Potatoes, Horseradish mash or the Creamy Garlic Potatoes.
Or for firmer more roast potatoes try the Duck Fat Roast Potatoes or Skin on Roast Potatoes.
For a potato bake try the Potato And Sweet Potato Bake, Potato And Onion Bake, Potato And Broccoli Bake or the Potato And Cauliflower Bake.
For salad try the Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad, Herb Salad or Healthy Panzanella Salad.
I like to serve it for a main with creamy mashed potatoes and you will see what that will look like in the photo below. I also garnish with some fresh parsley and cracked black pepper.
For fillers add the shredded beef to burgers, sliders, beef tacos, nachos, pizza, a burrito bowl or beef sandwiches.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
Let the beef fully cool then portion into an airtight container. The sauce can be kept separately so that it is not too 'soup like'.
Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days and need to be reheated before being consumed.
How to Freeze
Or you can choose to freeze the pulled beef. Again, keep the sauce separate from the meat.
These can be frozen for up to 3 months.
How to Reheat
For refrigerated leftovers, transfer to a bowl and cover with cling wrap. Reheat in the microwave on high for 1-3 minutes until warmed through.
For frozen portions let these thaw in the fridge then reheat using the step above. Frozen thawed pulled beef will take an extra minute or so to heat through.
💡 Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:
- Prep: whilst it is not essential to spray the slow cooker insert with cooking oil I still do. This ensures that if anything gets close to the edges it won't stick or burn.
- Technique: I don't recommend trying to pull the cooked beef whilst it is still in base of the slow cooker. At this point we haven't thickened the sauce so the liquid in there will splash everywhere (and it is hot!) if you try and do that. Rather, the best approach is to transfer it to a chopping board or baking dish and pull it in there (if using a baking dish that will help keep the juices in too).
- Fork approach: when pulling the pork I find the best method is to use a fork in each hand and rotate between pulling and then using the back of the fork to push down and shred. This combination will ensure all of the beef comes apart easily.
- Do you love slow cooking? Then you might like to try the Savoury Mince, Dahl, Stuffed Pork Tenderloin, Beef Massaman Curry, Massaman Lamb Shanks, Slow Cooker Chicken And Corn Soup or the Moroccan Lamb Shoulder.
🤓 Slow Cooker Pulled Beef FAQ's
Yes, it is a good idea to use liquid in the base of the slow cooker with beef. For this recipe we also use the liquid to create a sauce to use when serving the beef.
Yes, you can put raw beef into the slow cooker. There is no need to sear it first.
No, there is no need to flip the meat in a slow cooker.
I love making pulled meats and also love using my slow cooker. I have previously shared the Slow Cooker Pulled Lamb Shoulder, Dutch Oven Pulled Pork, Pulled Beef Brisket and Slow Cooker Coke Pulled Pork on the blog. I figured it was about time I shared a slow cooked pulled beef one too. The sauce flavor base comes from my Slow Cooker Devilled Sausages. The tang of sweet and savory flavors really gets you!
😍 More Easy Dinner Recipes
Don't worry if you can't think of something different to cook every single night of the week. I have plenty of recipes to share that might inspire you to try something new! The following recipes have a wide variety of proteins, cook times and methods.
- More slow cooker recipes: Devilled Sausages, Pork Belly, Slow Cooker Yellow Curry, Coke Ham.
- More beef recipes: Savoury Mince Pasta, Savoury Mince Pies, Beef Ribs, Beef Enchiladas, Beef Pesto Pasta.
- Pork for an alternative: Pork Mince Stir Fry, Pork Rashers, Air Fryer Pork Roast, Thai Minced Pork.
- Other proteins: Tuna Enchiladas, Thyme Roast Chicken, Chicken Rice Tray Bake, Baked Chicken Drumsticks And Rice, Tuna Rice Casserole.
- Pasta, noodles or rice: Garlic Spaghetti, Soy Sauce Noodles, Chorizo Fried Rice, Pork Mince Fried Rice, Pork Mince Noodles.
It is time to get our slow cooker pulled beef on my friend! You can also find all of my dinner recipes or slow cooker recipes in the one spot.
Adrianne
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📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Pulled Beef
Ingredients
Dry Rub
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon mustard powder
- 1 tablespoon ground paprika Note 1
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano Note 2
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Sauce
- 1 cup/250 ml beef stock
- ½ cup/125ml barbecue sauce Note 3
- ½ cup/125ml tomato sauce
- 400 grams/14 oz diced tomatoes Note 4
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce Note 5
Beef
- 1.5 kg/3.3 lb beef chuck
Slurry
- 2 tablespoons corn flour Note 6
- 1 tablespoon tap water
Instructions
- Dry rub: add the garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, paprika, salt and black pepper to a small bowl and stir until consistently combined.
- Beef: remove any packaging from the beef then use a folded piece of paper towel to pat it dry. Also remove any butchers string. Place it in the centre of a clean, dry chopping board.
- Massage: sprinkle the dry rub over each side of the beef chuck, massaging it in as you go. Ensure the whole cut is covered in the rub.
- Grease: lightly grease the slow cooker insert with olive oil spray.
- Sauce: add the beef stock, barbecue sauce, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce to the slow cooker. Use a wooden spoon to stir and gently combine.
- Beef and sauce: now place the seasoned beef into the slow cooker and put the lid on. Set the timer and temperature to 4 hours on high or 7 hours on low.
- Slurry: combine the cornflour with the water in a small jug and stir till consistently combined.
- Remove beef: once the initial cook time is up, remove the lid from the slow cooker. Then transfer the cooked beef to a chopping board. Use 2 forks to shred the beef.
- Thicken sauce: pour the slurry into the sauce and stir to combine.
- Add beef to sauce: now add the shredded beef back to the slow cooker and put the lid on. Set the timer to 1 hour on high or 1 ½ hours on low.
- Separate: once the final cook time is up, remove the lid of the slow cooker. Use a sieve or colander with a jug under it and pour the beef into the sieve using the jug under to collect the sauce.
- To serve: serve the beef with creamy mashed potatoes and drizzle desired amount of sauce over the top.
Video
Notes
- Note 1 - Paprika: use ground paprika for more of an intense flavor and use smoky paprika for a less intense flavor.
- Note 2 - Dried oregano: or use the equivalent of either dried rosemary or thyme.
- Note 3 - Barbecue sauce: we want to use a pretty regular or standard barbecue sauce. The flavor profile for the sauce for the pulled meat brings together both sweet and savory flavors and the dry rub ensures we are flavor packing the meat. We don't want to overdo it too much with 'smoky barbecue sauce' or 'spicy barbecue sauce'.
- Note 4 - Crushed tomatoes: I like to use crushed tomatoes. The plain version with no additional 'Italian flavours' or other additives. If you use diced tomatoes the texture will be noticeable and it is not a 'pulled meat' matching texture.
- Note 5 - Worcestershire sauce: or you use the equivalent of balsamic vinegar.
- Note 6 - Corn flour: this won't sift, as is will be fine, it will dissolve easily in the water
Carla says
Looks amazing!! Looking forward to trying it.
Adrianne Jamieson says
Thanks Carla 😊.